...the cage While researching the lists of the authors, I was attracted to the author Maya Angelou, because I am personally interested in civil rights. In this essay, I am going to research whole biography about her which includes lots of work that she has completed, her general perspective and important event which affected people in that century. The reason why I chose her is to explore whether she should have been much popular or not. First I will find historical background of her so that every audience can know at least who she is. And then I will find her major works that she has done, popularity of work at that time, popularity of herself and hidden work which has potential to be popular at that time so...
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...Maya Angelou's Early Life Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. Maya and her brother, Bailey, moved to live with their grandmother after the divorce of their parents. The move to Stamps, Arkansas forced Maya to encounter much racism. Despite prevalent racism in town, Maya's grandmother always made sure to teach Maya and her brother strong values. At the age of eight, Maya's mother, Vivian, took the children back to live with her in St. Louis. Shortly after the move, Maya was raped by her mother's live-in boyfriend. This traumatic event caused Maya to become mute for a period of time afterward and withdraw from family and friends. It also created a major rift between Maya and Vivian. At thirteen, Maya moved to San Francisco where she attended George Washington High School and received a scholarship to the California Labor School for dance and drama classes. Maya was one of the only black students in her school and found life in San Francisco intriguing and liberating. Maya's Young Adult Life She became pregnant with her son, Clyde, at age seventeen. Maya had just earned her high school diploma and her dreams of attending college were fleeting. Instead, she took various waitressing and cooking jobs and was even the madam of a brothel. Maya yearned for stardom in her young adult years, but her dancing career did not take off. Soon, Maya figured out that she needed to find a way...
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...bought Sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare.” Today, some groups continue to experience significant discrimination in the US; African Americans and Hispanic Americans are treated especially poorly. In Maya Angelou’s poem, the writer points out to us that so many have come to the US and so many have acted with violence and have damaged one another and the land. In the poem, the Rock said, “Your armed struggles for profit Have left collars of waste upon My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.” The importance of friendship and brotherhood is prevalent in American society in ways we do not expect. Many people, whether they are African American, Native American, White or whatever, have the same yearnings live a good life, to live in a nation where everyone has an equal chance to live up to their potential and to live in harmony with one another. Angelou points out in her poem that people are too busy and “desperate for gain, Starving for gold.” The Rock, the River and Tree call out to Americans to look around that and see the beauty of the world and of all people and try one more time for friendship and brotherhood since it is what people yearn for: “Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need For this bright morning dawning for you.” An example of allegory used in Maya Angelou’s poem is the use of three “characters” of the Rock, the Tree and the River who speak to all humans about the history and current state of the world. For example, “the...
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...sparked the birth of the civil rights movement. Under Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership, African Americans began to demand their rights as American citizens. The African American struggle for civil rights followed a variety of approaches, including the nonviolent tactics of King and the more aggressive methods of Malcolm X. As the movement began to rise, African American literature became more attuned to the events of the decade challenging political ideologies and revolutionary changes. One of these influential figures being Maya Angelou who is remembered as a poet, an author, an actress, a dancer, an educator, even a film director but also as a civil rights activist. While Angelou impacted the world through various aspects, her poetry was used as a political weapon...
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...Diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all. Maya's writings have a way of embracing people and successfully state her thoughts and emotions. "Pulse" is a call for hope and opportunity part of our history. Maya Angelou's poem ' On the Pulse of Morning' relates to diversity, change over time, and equality. When analyzing her poem, we came across stanzas that relate to these topics. Her poem has successfully portrayed a sense of diversity. Many lines in different stanzas are related to diversity. Stanza four and five, states, "The singing River, and the wise Rock. So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew, the African, the Native American, the Sioux, the Catholic, the Muslim, the French , the Greek, the Irish, the Rabbi, the Sheik, the Gay, the Straight, the Preacher, the privileged, the Homeless, the Teacher. They hear. They all hear the speaking of the tree." They are united by nature, but different due to their culture. In stanza six a lot about diversity has been acknowledged. The people who once helped Maya, do not anymore. It also says that we arrived from the Indians. In the course of history, elements of society have changed. Examples through Maya's work are, "The dinosaur, who left dried tokens of their sojourn here... Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages. But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully...
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...daughter Maya Angelou. The world was in for a change that day. Marguerite Annie Johnson was her real name. It wasn’t till Maya Angelou's early twenties when she received her name that we would all know today. Maya Angelou was a master of all trades, Maya went on to become an acclaimed American Poet, autobiographer, storyteller, and activist. Maya Angelou was best known as a poet and an award-winning author. In 1931 Maya Angelou and her brother has been sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps in Arkansas. At this time Stamps was a racially divided and Maya had now experienced what being a black girl in this racist society. As one could imagine her grandmother did her best to instill values and morals among their home. When Maya Angelou was eight years old she was living with her mother in Saint Louis. Tragically Maya was raped which then lead Maya to become mute for close to five years. Maya Angelou was sent back to Stampa because no one could handle the state that Maya was in. While living back in Stamps Maya life was going to change for the better. Mrs. Flowers was a woman that rescued Maya from who she thought she was. Maya confidence was regained and she was once more thriving. Maya at this time lived behind the back of the Johnson Grocery store with her brother and Uncle Willie. At this time Johnson Grocery Store would sell to both whites and blacks. In the home Mrs Annie had taught the Christian principals, respect, love and courage. Mrs Annie had a hand in Maya Angelou...
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...Sewit Asfaha Hum 300 11/06/2011 Maya Angelou •Born: 4 April 1928 •Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri •Best Known As: Author of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Name at birth: Marguerite Johnson Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, was nominated for a National Book Award and made her a symbol of pluck and pride for African-American women. In the 1950s Angelou had been a dancer and stage actress, and she was active in the civil rights movement (she became a coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, thanks to a request from Martin Luther King, Jr.). During the 1960s she spent five years in Africa, working as a journalist and a teacher. Angelou returned to the United States and in 1969 published I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. In 1972 she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her collection of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie. Since then, Angelou has continued teaching, writing, acting, producing, recording (she won Grammy Awards for the spoken word for the years 1993, 1995 and 2002) and collecting honorary degrees from across the United States. Since 1981 she has been the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. At Bill Clinton's request, Angelou wrote a poem -- On the Pulse of Morning -- for his 1993 inauguration as U.S. president. I chose one of Maya Angelou (Phenomenal Woman) for two reasons. One I feel that Maya is still one of the best poets in...
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...Martin Luther King Jr.’s good friend, Oprah’s hero, Alicia Keys’s singing instructor, America’s everywoman, phenomenal poet, inspiring speaker: there is an unlimited list of how to describe Maya Angelou. Those who knew Angelou knew her for her most popular memoir, or her poetry, or her talent for public speaking. Few knew her for her dancing career and less popular autobiographies, and even fewer knew how much she influenced people around the world. Knocked down by rape, racism, and sexism, Maya was able to not only stand right back up, but she also helped others who were struggling stand up with her. Her words of strength were not only popular and enjoyable, but the messages they held truly affected people and changed the way they saw the world. Through writing and voice, Angelou was able to have an everlasting effect on people, worldwide....
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...Maya Angelou was a very influential woman who had an interesting life. She was a poet, civil rights activist, and much more. She got many awards for her work and overcame segregation. Since we are learning about Maya Angelou, the beginning would be a better place to start. Maya Angelou was born in 1928 which was a time when segregation was very real. To make matters worse, her parents got divorced early on. At the time of the divorce, she was only two, so of course this event influenced her greatly. She went to live with her uncle and grandmother. Her brother came too. Her uncle decided that even though they were of color, they needed to flourish their minds. He taught them to read and write, and that is what started Maya’s love of poetry....
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...Maya Angelou is one of the most famous African-American women figures. As well as an inspiring figure as a poet, Maya is also well known to have been a great actress, educator, historian, author, playwright, director and producer (mayaangelou.com/bio/). At the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya was also inspired to become involved in the civil rights movement. Mary has many famous works; however she is very well-known for her autobiography: I know why the Caged Bird Sings. In that autobiography, Mary pours out the first seventeen years of her life, then writes about her years following in another autobiography. Maya Angelou's former name was Marguerite Ann Johnson. Maya got the nickname from her older brother bailey, who had a speech issue and couldn't pronounce Marguerite. He started calling her Maya because he read a book on Mayan indians, and the name stuck (achievement.org/autodoc/page/ang0bio-1). Her parents divorced when she was only three years old, and she and her older brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Arkansas three years after Maya was born. Maya grew up in the south during a very racist period and the traditional african-american courtesy and respect . She had a hard young life, and writes in her autobiography, "I know why the caged bird sings" how she remembers being more literate than her own mother (Angelou 91). After living with her grandmother for a few years, which her and her brother would call "momma", Maya and Bailey went...
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...Menu On Course Print Answer Key In Holt Literature and Language Arts, you read “Brother,” from Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In the selections you are about to read, you will learn more about the experiences that made Maya Angelou the extraordinary individual she is today. In the biographical essay “Maya Angelou,” Joyce Hansen gives us a sense of the events that shaped Angelou’s life. Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” presents a more subjective viewpoint. “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” exists as a personal statement in which Angelou herself tells us how she’s managed to overcome the fears that otherwise might have beaten her down. Marguerite Johnson, who became known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She and her brother, Bailey, were raised by their grandmother, the owner of a country store in Stamps, Arkansas. During her lifetime, Angelou struggled to overcome many difficult circumstances, a process she believes made her strong. The events of her life became known to millions through the 1970 publication of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was nominated for a National Book Award and later used as the basis for a TV movie. Reading Standard 3.5 Identify the speaker, and recognize the difference between firstand third-person narration (for example, autobiography compared with biography). How did you become you? What are the circumstances that helped shape you? Who are the individuals...
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... Louis, Missouri. In 1935, the children were returned to the care of their mother in Chicago, Illinois after her and her brother Bailey Jr. were sent to Arkansas to live with their parental grandmother, Annie Henderson, and their uncle, Willie. Later in 1935, the children were returned to the care of their mother in Chicago, Illinois, but were sent back to Stamps after it was discovered that her mother’s boyfriend had sexually molested Maya. He was arrested and kept in a cell for 1 day, however after his release he was later found dead. While living with the Grandmother, Maya became an elected mute; she felt her words had such power that they caused the death of others (her mother’s boyfriend) and as result choose not to speak at all. While living with her Grandmother, she responded with the following words: “Sister, Momma don’t care what these people say, that you must be an idiot, a moron, ’cause you can’t talk. Momma don’t care. Momma know that when you and the good Lord get ready, you gon’ be a teacher.” As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son, Guy, a few weeks after graduation. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook, however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would...
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...Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture. As a teenager, Dr. Angelou’s love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor School. At 14, she dropped out to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. She later finished high school, giving birth to her son, a few weeks after graduation. As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook, however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would soon take center stage. In 1954 and 1955, Dr. Angelou toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. She studied modern dance with Martha Graham, danced with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows and, in 1957, recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. In 1958, she moved to New York, where she joined the Harlem Writers Guild, acted in the historic Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks and wrote and performed Cabaret for Freedom. In 1960, Dr....
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...GCSE English Literature Specimen Assessment Materials 1 For assessment from 2013 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE SPECIMEN ASSESSMENT MATERIALS GCSE English Literature Specimen Assessment Materials 3 Contents Page Question Papers English Literature Unit 1 (H.T.) English Literature Unit 2 a and b (H.T.) English Literature Unit 1 (F.T.) English Literature Unit 2 a and b (F.T.) 5 Mark Schemes English Literature Unit 1 (H.T.) English Literature Unit 2 a and b (H.T.) English Literature Unit 1 (F.T.) English Literature Unit 2 a and b (F.T.) 93 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Higher Tier UNIT 1 Specimen Assessment Materials 2 hours SECTION A Question 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Of Mice and Men Anita and Me To Kill a Mockingbird I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Chanda’s Secrets SECTION B 6. Poetry 12 Pages 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10 - 11 ADDITIONAL MATERIALS Twelve page answer booklet. INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Answer both Section A and Section B. Answer one question in Section A and the question in Section B. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES The number of marks is given in brackets after each question or part-question. You are reminded that assessment will take into account the quality of written communication used in your answers. JD*(S-2011 Higher) Turn over. 2 SECTION A 1. Of Mice and Men Answer part (a) and either part (b) or part (c). You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on part (a), and about 40 minutes on part (b) or part (c). (a) Read the extract on the opposite...
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...C h a p t e r 1 Prewriting GETTING STARTED (OR SOUP-CAN LABELS CAN BE FASCINATING) For many writers, getting started is the hardest part. You may have noticed that when it is time to begin a writing assignment, you suddenly develop an enormous desire to straighten your books, water your plants, or sharpen your pencils for the fifth time. If this situation sounds familiar, you may find it reassuring to know that many professionals undergo these same strange compulsions before they begin writing. Jean Kerr, author of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, admits that she often finds herself in the kitchen reading soup-can labels—or anything—in order to prolong the moments before taking pen in hand. John C. Calhoun, vice president under Andrew Jackson, insisted he had to plow his fields before he could write, and Joseph Conrad, author of Lord Jim and other novels, is said to have cried on occasion from the sheer dread of sitting down to compose his stories. To spare you as much hand-wringing as possible, this chapter presents some practical suggestions on how to begin writing your short essay. Although all writers must find the methods that work best for them, you may find some of the following ideas helpful. But no matter how you actually begin putting words on paper, it is absolutely essential to maintain two basic ideas concerning your writing task. Before you write a single sentence, you should always remind yourself that 1. You have some valuable ideas to tell your reader,...
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